Thursday's Daily Pulse

What you need to know about Florida today

| 8/7/2014

Part-time workers find full-time jobs elusive

Approximately 7.5 million Americans are struggling to find full-time work and settling for part-time jobs amid an atmosphere of stress, depression and low finances. Their numbers remains stubbornly higher in the current economic recovery, compared with the peaks of the recessions over the past three decades. [Source: McClatchy]

Florida adds 8,740 private sector jobs in July

The State of Florida added 8,740 private sector jobs during the month of July, according to the ADP Regional Employment Report which is produced by ADP, in collaboration with Moody’s Analytics. [Source: Miami Herald]

$11 billion later, high-speed rail is inching along

High-speed rail was supposed to be President Obama’s signature transportation project, but despite the administration spending nearly $11 billion since 2009 to develop faster passenger trains, the projects have gone mostly nowhere and the United States still lags far behind Europe and China. [Source: New York Times]

Making money is part of new social mission for entrepreneurs

As nonprofits across the country struggle to diversify their revenue, a generation of older, more reliable donors is dying off, and government grant funding has grown increasingly fickle. Younger donors, especially millennials, tend to be drawn to causes in which they can take action [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

Revamped early voting begins next week in Florida

Early voting in Florida's statewide primary election will get underway next week with more days and more locations in most counties, but probably far fewer voters. Shamed into action by the record wait times at early voting sites in 2012, the Legislature retooled early voting to give county elections supervisors more flexibility in hours and locations, which they had demanded for years. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

› Florida remains nation's space hub, Rubio says[WTSP] Texas might have won a piece of SpaceX's business, but that company and others will continue to grow in Florida, too, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio said Wednesday after meetings with local space leaders.

› Florida may allow hunters to use silencers[South Florida Sun-Sentinel] Hunters of deer, turkey and other animals in Florida may soon be able to operate with lethal stealth under a state proposal to allow them to use silencers.

› Hospitals equip to serve severely obese patients[Tampa Bay Times] Hospitals here and elsewhere are investing in design and equipment that can better serve the increasing number of severely obese patients while also protecting health care workers from injury due to lifting these patients.